Inter-application relevance management for application virtualization platform

ABSTRACT

A system and method that provides inter-application relevance management for resources being brokered by an application virtualization platform. A described platform includes a memory configured to store a set of relevance rules for applications hosted by the application virtualization platform, wherein each relevance rule specifies a relevance setting between a first application and a second application. Also included is a processor coupled to the memory and configured to broker resources for the application virtualization platform, according to a method. The method includes: receiving a request from a client to launch a target application hosted by the application virtualization platform; retrieving a subset of applicable relevance rules that specify the target application from the set of relevance rules; and selecting a resource for the target application based on the subset of applicable relevance rules, wherein the resource includes at least one of a session or a session server.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

In a typical application virtualization platform, users log into avirtual workspace via remote clients to access virtual applications andservices. Once logged in, users can submit a request via the client tohave the platform launch an application, such as a browser, emailservice, word processor, etc., that will be virtualized via the clientfor used. In response to the request, the platform utilizes a brokeringsystem to identify resources (e.g., a session, a server, etc.) forrunning the application for an end user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

Aspects of this disclosure provide a system and method that providesinter-application relevance management for resources being brokered byan application virtualization platform.

A first aspect of the disclosure provides an application virtualizationplatform. The platform includes a memory configured to store a set ofrelevance rules for applications hosted by the applicationvirtualization platform, wherein each relevance rule specifies arelevance setting between a first application and a second application.The platform also includes a processor coupled to the memory andconfigured to broker resources for the application virtualizationplatform, according to a method. The method includes receiving a requestfrom a client to launch a target application hosted by the applicationvirtualization platform; retrieving a subset of applicable relevancerules that specify the target application from the set of relevancerules; and selecting a resource for the target application based on thesubset of applicable relevance rules, wherein the resource includes atleast one of a session or a session host.

A second aspect of the disclosure provides a brokering system thatincludes a memory and a processor coupled to the memory and configuredto broker resources for an application virtualization platform,according to a method. The method includes receiving a request from aclient to launch a target application hosted by the applicationvirtualization platform; retrieving a subset of applicable relevancerules that specify the target application from a set of relevance rules,wherein each relevance rule specifies a relevance setting between afirst application and a second application; and selecting a resource forthe target application based on the subset of applicable relevancerules, wherein the resource includes at least one of a session or asession host.

A third aspect of the disclosure provides method for brokering resourcesfor an application virtualization platform. The method includesreceiving a request from a client to launch a target application hostedby the application virtualization platform; retrieving a subset ofapplicable relevance rules that specify the target application from aset of relevance rules, wherein each relevance rule specifies arelevance setting between a first application and a second application;and selecting a resource for the target application based on the subsetof applicable relevance rules, wherein the resource includes at leastone of a session or a session host.

The illustrative aspects of the present disclosure are designed to solvethe problems herein described and/or other problems not discussed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features of this disclosure will be more readilyunderstood from the following detailed description of the variousaspects of the disclosure taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings that depict various embodiments of the disclosure, in which:

FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative application virtualization platform inaccordance with an illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 2 depicts a set of relevance rules, in accordance with anillustrative embodiment.

FIG. 3 depicts a flow diagram of a process for providinginter-application relevance management, in accordance with anillustrative embodiment.

FIG. 4 depicts a network infrastructure, in accordance with anillustrative embodiment.

FIG. 5 depicts a cloud computing diagram, in accordance with anillustrative embodiment.

FIG. 6 depicts a computing system, in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment.

The drawings are intended to depict only typical aspects of thedisclosure, and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scopeof the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

Embodiments of the disclosure provide technical solutions for brokeringresources (e.g., machines, servers, sessions, etc.) for requestedapplications in an application virtualization platform (“platform”), andmore particularly, for providing inter-application relevance managementwhen brokering such resources. Many applications have some explicit orimplicit relevance between one another, such as a dependency orconflict. Any number of reasons may give rise to such a dependency orconflict. For example, dependent applications may rely heavily onnetwork communication with each other. Conversely, conflictingapplications may include applications that cannot be launched asmultiple instances from a single session or single machine. In priorbrokering solutions, applications were managed independently, and anysuch inter-application relevance was ignored. The present solutionevaluates any inter-application relevance so that launched applicationscan be hosted at an appropriate “distance” from other runningapplications, i.e., using the same or different session, server,machine, data center, etc.

Utilizing this approach, hosted applications can be selectively groupedto run to closer together or apart as part of the brokering process.Thus, for example, applications that communicate often with each othercan be located close to one another to reduce communication costs.Conversely, applications that conflict with one another, e.g., forsecurity reasons, can be scheduled in different sessions or machines toavoid inter-application conflicts. The present approach provides atechnical solution in which dependencies between applications arespecified with a set of relevance rules. At the time of brokering, therelevance rules are evaluated as part of the load balance considerationsto determine how applications should be hosted to ensure that certainapplications function at an optimal distance.

FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative workspace environment that generallyincludes a set of clients 12 that generally include endpoint computingdevices, e.g., desktops, laptops, smart devices, etc., that runvirtualization client applications to engage with an applicationvirtualization platform 10. As noted, users access the platform 10through via the endpoint computing devices that are configured toprovide users with access to virtual resources, such as virtualapplications, virtual desktops, and virtual servers that are hosted bycomputing devices physically distinct from the endpoint devices (e.g.,as provided by Citrix® Workspace or the Citrix® Receiver, both of whichare commercially available from Citrix Systems of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.in the United States).

In the illustrative embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a virtualizedapplication host 16 provides a set of applications (Apps) 18 accessiblevia clients 12. When a user submits a request to launch an application18, brokering system 14 determines a hosting option 24 to host theapplication. Namely, broker system 14 determines whether an existing ornew session should be utilized, which server 24 a, 24 b, 24 c, 24 d touse, etc. Servers 24 may for example be implemented in any manner, e.g.,in a data center, a public or private cloud, a server farm, etc.

A relevance management system 20 interacts with the brokering system 14to enhance the brokering process by evaluating inter-applicationrelevance rules 22 when an application 18 is requested to be launched.Relevance rules 22 may for example be generated by system administratoror other service that has knowledge of the virtual workspace andassociated applications 18. For example, it may be known that certainapplications cannot run on the same server due to security concerns orthat certain applications share data so it would be ideal to host themclose together. An illustrative set of relevance rules 22 are shown inFIG. 2. Each rule includes a rule identifier (Rule_id), a pair ofapplications (App_id_#1 and App_id_#2), a relevance, and a scope. In anillustrative embodiment, the relevance between a pair of applications isselected from the following set:

Relevance_set{

R_samesession, // this illustrates the application pair should be hostedin the same session

R_sameserver, // this illustrates the application pair should be hostedin the same server

R_notsamesession, // this illustrates the application pair should not tobe started in the same session

R_notsameserver, // this illustrates the application pair should not tobe hosted in the same server

}.

Accordingly, in the example shown in FIG. 2 application pairBC_peruser_frontline_01 and BC_peruser_backend_01 should be hosted inthe same session (rule_id 1), whereas application pairBC_singleInstPerSession_01 and BC_singleInstPerSession_01 should not behosted in the same session (rule_id 3). Further, application pairBC_peruser_frontline_01 and BC_alluser_backend_01 should be hosted onthe same server (rule_id 2), whereas application pairBC_singleInstPerVM_01 and BC_singleInstPerVM_01 should not be hosted onthe same server (rule_id 4).

Furthermore, each rule has an associated scope that dictates the scopeof the rule. In an illustrative embodiment, the scope is elected fromthe following set:

Scope_set

{

-   -   S_currentuser // this illustrates the relevance applies only for        apps started by current user    -   S_alluser // this illustrates the relevance applies for apps        started by all users        }.        In this rule set example, a relevance rule for an application        pair can apply to the current user or all users. Accordingly,        rule_id 1 applies only to the current user, whereas rule_id 2        applies to all users. Other user groups could likewise be        defined and implemented.

FIG. 3 depicts a flow diagram of a process for implementing relevancemanage system 20 when brokering resources. At 51, a received launchrequest for a target application is parsed and any relevance rules thatinclude the target application are retrieved. At S2, connectablesessions are identified that are eligible under the same session/notsame session rules. In this case, each relevance rule that includes thetarget application is analyzed and if one or more applications relevantto the target application are already running, a determination is madewhether there exists an eligible session that the target application canutilize. For example, a first detected rule might specify that thetarget application should join an existing session used by a secondapplication. However, a further rule might specify that the targetapplication should not join the same existing session used by a thirdapplication. In this case, there would be no eligible session.

At S3, the determination is made whether an eligible session is found.If yes, then the eligible session is returned to the brokering system atS6. If no, then a new session server is searched for at S4 that iseligible under same server/not same server rules. In this case, eachrelevance rule that includes the target application is analyzed and ifone or more applications relevant to the target application are alreadyrunning, a determination is made whether there exists an eligible serverthat the target application can utilize. For example, a first detectedrule might specify that the target application should join an existingserver used by a second application. However, a further rule mightspecify that the target application should not join the same existingserver used by a third application. In this case, some other servershould be utilized. Assuming that an eligible server is located at S5,the eligible server is returned to the brokering system 20 at S6. If noeligible server is located, a failure condition can be generated at S7and returned to the brokering system 20 at S6.

The following steps provide a detailed process for searching for aneligible session at S2 from a candidate session list that meets therelevance rules.

1: Find all R_samesession rules for the target application beinglaunched, extracting the compatible applications from the relevancerules 22;

2: Find sessions from given session list that have the compatibleapplications hosted, save them into set #1;

3: Find all R_notsamesession rules for the target application beinglaunched, extracting the incompatible applications from the rules;

4: Find candidate sessions from set #1 not having incompatibleapplications hosted;

5: If any sessions are found in step #4, then return the session;

6: Find sessions from given session list not having the compatible appshosted, and save them into set #2;

7: Find candidate sessions from set #2 not having incompatibleapplications hosted;

8: If any sessions are found from step #7, then return the session.

The following steps provide a detailed process for searching for aneligible server at S4 from a candidate server list that meets therelevance rules.

1: Find all R_sameserver rules for the target application beinglaunched, extracting the compatible applications from the relevancerules;

2: Find session servers from given list that having the compatibleapplications hosted, save them into set #1;

3: Find all R_notsameserver rules for the target application beinglaunched, extract the incompatible applications from the relevancerules;

4: Find session servers from set #1 not having incompatible applicationshosted for the specified rule scope;

5: If any session server is found in step #4, then return the sessionserver;

6: Find session servers from given list not having compatibleapplications hosted, save them into set #2;

7: Find candidate session servers from set #2 not having incompatibleapplications hosted;

8: If any session server is found from step #7, then return the sessionserver.

Referring to FIG. 4, an illustrative network environment 100 is depictedfor implementing the virtual workspace. Network environment 100 mayinclude one or more clients 102(1)-102(n) (also generally referred to aslocal machine(s) 102, “client devices” or client(s) 102) incommunication with one or more servers 106(1)-106(n) (also generallyreferred to as remote machine(s) 106 or server(s) 106) via one or morenetworks 104(1)-104 n (generally referred to as network(s) 104). In someembodiments, a client 102 may communicate with a server 106 via one ormore appliances 110(1)-110 n (generally referred to as appliance(s) 110or gateway(s) 110).

Although the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 shows one or more networks 104between clients 102 and servers 106, in other embodiments, clients 102and servers 106 may be on the same network 104. The various networks 104may be the same type of network or different types of networks. Forexample, in some embodiments, network 104(1) may be a private networksuch as a local area network (LAN) or a company Intranet, while network104(2) and/or network 104(n) may be a public network, such as a widearea network (WAN) or the Internet. In other embodiments, both network104(1) and network 104(n) may be private networks. Networks 104 mayemploy one or more types of physical networks and/or network topologies,such as wired and/or wireless networks, and may employ one or morecommunication transport protocols, such as transmission control protocol(TCP), internet protocol (IP), user datagram protocol (UDP) or othersimilar protocols.

As shown in FIG. 4, one or more appliances 110 may be located at variouspoints or in various communication paths of network environment 100. Forexample, appliance 110(1) may be deployed between two networks 104(1)and 104(2), and appliances 110 may communicate with one another to workin conjunction to, for example, accelerate network traffic betweenclients 102 and servers 106. In other embodiments, the appliance 110 maybe located on a network 104. For example, appliance 110 may beimplemented as part of one of clients 102 and/or servers 106. In anembodiment, appliance 110 may be implemented as a network device such asCitrix networking (formerly NetScaler®) products sold by Citrix Systems,Inc. of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

As shown in FIG. 4, one or more servers 106 may operate as a server farm108. Servers 106 of server farm 108 may be logically grouped, and mayeither be geographically co-located (e.g., on premises) orgeographically dispersed (e.g., cloud based) from clients 102 and/orother servers 106. In an embodiment, server farm 108 executes one ormore applications on behalf of one or more of clients 102 (e.g., as anapplication server), although other uses are possible, such as a fileserver, gateway server, proxy server, or other similar server uses.Clients 102 may seek access to hosted applications on servers 106.

As shown in FIG. 4, in some embodiments, appliances 110 may include, bereplaced by, or be in communication with, one or more additionalappliances, such as WAN optimization appliances 112(1)-112(n), referredto generally as WAN optimization appliance(s) 112. For example, WANoptimization appliance 112 may accelerate, cache, compress or otherwiseoptimize or improve performance, operation, flow control, or quality ofservice of network traffic, such as traffic to and/or from a WANconnection, such as optimizing Wide Area File Services (WAFS),accelerating Server Message Block (SMB) or Common Internet File System(CIFS). In some embodiments, appliance 112 may be a performanceenhancing proxy or a WAN optimization controller. In one embodiment,appliance 112 may be implemented as Citrix SD-WAN products sold byCitrix Systems, Inc. of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Referring to FIG. 5, a cloud computing environment 200 is depicted,which may also be referred to as a cloud environment, cloud computing orcloud network. The cloud computing environment 200 can provide thedelivery of shared computing services and/or resources to multiple usersor tenants. For example, the shared resources and services can include,but are not limited to, networks, network bandwidth, servers,processing, memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, databases,software, hardware, analytics, and intelligence.

In the cloud computing environment 200, one or more clients 102 a-102 n(such as those described above) are in communication with a cloudnetwork 204. The cloud network 304 may include back-end platforms, e.g.,servers, storage, server farms or data centers. The users or clients 102a-102 n can correspond to a single organization/tenant or multipleorganizations/tenants. More particularly, in one example implementationthe cloud computing environment 200 may provide a private cloud servinga single organization (e.g., enterprise cloud). In another example, thecloud computing environment 200 may provide a community or public cloudserving multiple organizations/tenants.

In some embodiments, a gateway appliance(s) or service may be utilizedto provide access to cloud computing resources and virtual sessions. Byway of example, Citrix Gateway, provided by Citrix Systems, Inc., may bedeployed on-premises or on public clouds to provide users with secureaccess and single sign-on to virtual, SaaS and web applications.Furthermore, to protect users from web threats, a gateway such as CitrixSecure Web Gateway may be used. Citrix Secure Web Gateway uses acloud-based service and a local cache to check for URL reputation andcategory.

In still further embodiments, the cloud computing environment 200 mayprovide a hybrid cloud that is a combination of a public cloud and aprivate cloud. Public clouds may include public servers that aremaintained by third parties to the clients 102 a-102 n or theenterprise/tenant. The servers may be located off-site in remotegeographical locations or otherwise.

The cloud computing environment 200 can provide resource pooling toserve multiple users via clients 102 a-102 n through a multi-tenantenvironment or multi-tenant model with different physical and virtualresources dynamically assigned and reassigned responsive to differentdemands within the respective environment. The multi-tenant environmentcan include a system or architecture that can provide a single instanceof software, an application or a software application to serve multipleusers. In some embodiments, the cloud computing environment 200 canprovide on-demand self-service to unilaterally provision computingcapabilities (e.g., server time, network storage) across a network formultiple clients 102 a-102 n. By way of example, provisioning servicesmay be provided through a system such as Citrix Provisioning Services(Citrix PVS). Citrix PVS is a software-streaming technology thatdelivers patches, updates, and other configuration information tomultiple virtual desktop endpoints through a shared desktop image. Thecloud computing environment 200 can provide an elasticity to dynamicallyscale out or scale in response to different demands from one or moreclients 102. In some embodiments, the cloud computing environment 200can include or provide monitoring services to monitor, control and/orgenerate reports corresponding to the provided shared services andresources.

In some embodiments, the cloud computing environment 200 may providecloud-based delivery of different types of cloud computing services,such as Software as a service (SaaS) 208, Platform as a Service (PaaS)212, Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) 216, and Desktop as a Service(DaaS) 220, for example. IaaS may refer to a user renting the use ofinfrastructure resources that are needed during a specified time period.IaaS providers may offer storage, networking, servers or virtualizationresources from large pools, allowing the users to quickly scale up byaccessing more resources as needed. Examples of IaaS include AMAZON WEBSERVICES provided by Amazon.com, Inc., of Seattle, Wash., RACKSPACECLOUD provided by Rackspace US, Inc., of San Antonio, Tex., GoogleCompute Engine provided by Google Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., orRIGHTSCALE provided by RightScale, Inc., of Santa Barbara, Calif.

PaaS providers may offer functionality provided by IaaS, including,e.g., storage, networking, servers or virtualization, as well asadditional resources such as, e.g., the operating system, middleware, orruntime resources. Examples of PaaS include WINDOWS AZURE provided byMicrosoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash., Google App Engine provided byGoogle Inc., and HEROKU provided by Heroku, Inc. of San Francisco,Calif.

SaaS providers may offer the resources that PaaS provides, includingstorage, networking, servers, virtualization, operating system,middleware, or runtime resources. In some embodiments, SaaS providersmay offer additional resources including, e.g., data and applicationresources. Examples of SaaS include GOOGLE APPS provided by Google Inc.,SALESFORCE provided by Salesforce.com Inc. of San Francisco, Calif., orOFFICE 365 provided by Microsoft Corporation. Examples of SaaS may alsoinclude data storage providers, e.g. Citrix ShareFile from CitrixSystems, DROPBOX provided by Dropbox, Inc. of San Francisco, Calif.,Microsoft SKYDRIVE provided by Microsoft Corporation, Google Driveprovided by Google Inc., or Apple ICLOUD provided by Apple Inc. ofCupertino, Calif.

Similar to SaaS, DaaS (which is also known as hosted desktop services)is a form of virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) in which virtualdesktop sessions are typically delivered as a cloud service along withthe apps used on the virtual desktop. Citrix Cloud from Citrix Systemsis one example of a DaaS delivery platform. DaaS delivery platforms maybe hosted on a public cloud computing infrastructure such as AZURE CLOUDfrom Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. (herein “Azure”), or AMAZONWEB SERVICES provided by Amazon.com, Inc., of Seattle, Wash. (herein“AWS”), for example. In the case of Citrix Cloud, Citrix Workspace appmay be used as a single-entry point for bringing apps, files anddesktops together (whether on-premises or in the cloud) to deliver aunified experience.

In described embodiments, clients 102, servers 106, and appliances 110and 112 may be deployed as and/or executed on any type and form ofcomputing device, such as any desktop computer, laptop computer, ormobile device capable of communication over at least one network andperforming the operations described herein. For example, clients 102,servers 106 and/or appliances 110 and 112 may each correspond to onecomputer, a plurality of computers, or a network of distributedcomputers such as computing system 300 shown in FIG. 6. Computing system300 may for example be implemented by a cloud computing environment thatemploys a network of remote, hosted servers to manage, store and/orprocess data, and may generally be referred to, or fall under theumbrella of, a “network service.”

Elements of the described solution may be embodied in a computingsystem, such as that shown in FIG. 6 in which a computer 300 may includeone or more processors 302, volatile memory 304 (e.g., RAM),non-volatile memory 308 (e.g., one or more hard disk drives (HDDs) orother magnetic or optical storage media, one or more solid state drives(SSDs) such as a flash drive or other solid state storage media, one ormore hybrid magnetic and solid state drives, and/or one or more virtualstorage volumes, such as a cloud storage, or a combination of suchphysical storage volumes and virtual storage volumes or arrays thereof),user interface (UI) 310, one or more communications interfaces 306, andcommunication bus 312. User interface 310 may include graphical userinterface (GUI) 320 (e.g., a touchscreen, a display, etc.) and one ormore input/output (I/O) devices 322 (e.g., a mouse, a keyboard, etc.).Non-volatile memory 308 stores operating system 314, one or moreapplications 316, and data 318 such that, for example, computerinstructions of operating system 314 and/or applications 316 areexecuted by processor(s) 302 out of volatile memory 304. Data may beentered using an input device of GUI 320 or received from I/O device(s)322. Various elements of computer 300 may communicate via communicationbus 312. Computer 300 as shown in FIG. 6 is shown merely as an example,as clients, servers and/or appliances and may be implemented by anycomputing or processing environment and with any type of machine or setof machines that may have suitable hardware and/or software capable ofoperating as described herein.

Processor(s) 302 may be implemented by one or more programmableprocessors executing one or more computer programs to perform thefunctions of the system. As used herein, the term “processor” describesan electronic circuit that performs a function, an operation, or asequence of operations. The function, operation, or sequence ofoperations may be hard coded into the electronic circuit or soft codedby way of instructions held in a memory device. A “processor” mayperform the function, operation, or sequence of operations using digitalvalues or using analog signals. In some embodiments, the “processor” canbe embodied in one or more application specific integrated circuits(ASICs), microprocessors, digital signal processors, microcontrollers,field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic arrays(PLAs), multi-core processors, or general-purpose computers withassociated memory. The “processor” may be analog, digital ormixed-signal. In some embodiments, the “processor” may be one or morephysical processors or one or more “virtual” (e.g., remotely located or“cloud”) processors.

Communications interfaces 306 may include one or more interfaces toenable computer 300 to access a computer network such as a LAN, a WAN,or the Internet through a variety of wired and/or wireless or cellularconnections.

In described embodiments, a first computing device 300 may execute anapplication on behalf of a user of a client computing device (e.g., aclient), may execute a virtual machine, which provides an executionsession within which applications execute on behalf of a user or aclient computing device (e.g., a client), such as a hosted desktopsession, may execute a terminal services session to provide a hosteddesktop environment, or may provide access to a computing environmentincluding one or more of: one or more applications, one or more desktopapplications, and one or more desktop sessions in which one or moreapplications may execute.

The foregoing drawings show some of the processing associated accordingto several embodiments of this disclosure. In this regard, each drawingor block within a flow diagram of the drawings represents a processassociated with embodiments of the method described. It should also benoted that in some alternative implementations, the acts noted in thedrawings or blocks may occur out of the order noted in the figure or,for example, may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or inthe reverse order, depending upon the act involved. Also, one ofordinary skill in the art will recognize that additional blocks thatdescribe the processing may be added.

As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art upon reading thefollowing disclosure, various aspects described herein may be embodiedas a system, a device, a method or a computer program product (e.g., anon-transitory computer-readable medium having computer executableinstruction for performing the noted operations or steps). Accordingly,those aspects may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, anentirely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software andhardware aspects. Furthermore, such aspects may take the form of acomputer program product stored by one or more computer-readable storagemedia having computer-readable program code, or instructions, embodiedin or on the storage media. Any suitable computer readable storage mediamay be utilized, including hard disks, CD-ROMs, optical storage devices,magnetic storage devices, and/or any combination thereof.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure.As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof. “Optional” or “optionally” means thatthe subsequently described event or circumstance may or may not occur,and that the description includes instances where the event occurs andinstances where it does not.

Approximating language, as used herein throughout the specification andclaims, may be applied to modify any quantitative representation thatcould permissibly vary without resulting in a change in the basicfunction to which it is related. Accordingly, a value modified by a termor terms, such as “about,” “approximately” and “substantially,” are notto be limited to the precise value specified. In at least someinstances, the approximating language may correspond to the precision ofan instrument for measuring the value. Here and throughout thespecification and claims, range limitations may be combined and/orinterchanged, such ranges are identified and include all the sub-rangescontained therein unless context or language indicates otherwise.“Approximately” as applied to a particular value of a range applies toboth values, and unless otherwise dependent on the precision of theinstrument measuring the value, may indicate +/−10% of the statedvalue(s).

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the disclosure in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the disclosure and the practical application, and toenable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosurefor various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

We claim:
 1. An application virtualization platform, comprising: a memory configured to store a set of relevance rules for applications hosted by the application virtualization platform, wherein each relevance rule identifies at least two distinct applications and specifies a relevance setting between the at least two applications, wherein the at least two applications include a first application and a second application, and wherein the relevance setting defines whether the first application and the second application are compatible to run on a same session, or a same session server; and a processor coupled to the memory and configured to apply the set of relevance rules for applications hosted by the application virtualization platform, according to a method comprising: receiving a request from a client to launch a target application hosted by the application virtualization platform; retrieving a subset of applicable relevance rules that specify the target application from the set of relevance rules; and selecting a resource for the target application based on the subset of applicable relevance rules, wherein the resource includes at least one of a session or a session server, wherein selecting the resource includes: determining whether at least one available session exists for the target application by analyzing sessions that are compatible and sessions that are not compatible for the target application; if at least one available session exists, returning the at least one session for use by the application virtualization platform; if at least one available session does not exist, determining whether at least one available session server exists for the target application by analyzing session servers that are compatible and session servers that are not compatible for the target application; and if at least one available session server exists, returning the at least one session server for use by the application virtualization platform, wherein the subset of applicable relevance rules define whether the target application and a currently running application are compatible to run on the same session or the same session server, and wherein the subset of applicable relevance rules enable selecting the resource for the target application to enhance efficiency in running the target application and the currently running application, wherein selecting the resource for the target application includes first searching for any currently running application for which the subset of relevance rules define as eligible for the target application to join on the same session, wherein selecting the resource for the target application includes, if failing to identify any currently running application for which the subset of relevance rules define as eligible for the target application to join on the same session: searching for any currently running application for which the subset of relevance rules define as eligible for the target application to join on the same session server.
 2. The platform of claim 1, wherein the relevance setting for the first application and the second application specifies one of: a first setting indicating that the first application and the second application are compatible to run on the same session; a second setting indicating that the first application and the second application are not compatible to run on the same session; a third setting indicating that the first application and the second application are compatible to run on the same session server; or a fourth setting indicating that the first application and the second application are not compatible to run on the same session server.
 3. The platform of claim 1, wherein selecting the resource further includes: if at least one available session server does not exist, returning an error.
 4. The platform of claim 1, wherein each relevance rule includes a rule identifier and further specifies a scope to which the relevance rule applies, wherein the scope indicates that the relevance applies only to a current user, applies to a group of users, or applies to all users.
 5. The platform of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to parse the request from the client to retrieve all of the relevance rules that specify the target application, wherein if the target application is eligible to share an existing session with the currently running application, the processor joins the target application with the existing session.
 6. The platform of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to perform: i) defining a first candidate set of sessions for the target application to join that have a currently running application for which the subset of relevance rules define as eligible for the target application to join on the same session, ii) searching for all currently running applications that are not compatible to run on the same session as the target application and defining a second candidate set of sessions that include the currently running applications that are not compatible to run on the same session as the target application, and iii) returning only sessions from the first candidate set of sessions that do not include the second candidate set of sessions for the target application to join, if step (iii) does not return any eligible sessions for the target application to join, then: iv) defining a first candidate set of session servers for the target application to join that have a currently running application for which the subset of relevance rules define as eligible for the target application to join on the same session server, v) searching for all currently running applications that are not compatible to run on the same session server as the target application and defining a second candidate set of session servers that include the currently running applications that are not compatible to run on the same session server as the target application, and vi) returning only session servers from the first candidate set of session servers that do not include the second candidate set of session servers for the target application to join.
 7. A brokering system, comprising: a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory and configured to apply a set of relevance rules for applications hosted by an application virtualization platform, according to a method comprising: receiving a request from a client to launch a target application hosted by the application virtualization platform; retrieving a subset of applicable relevance rules from the set of relevance rules that specify the target application from a set of relevance rules, wherein each relevance rule specifies a relevance setting between a first application and a second application, wherein the relevance setting defines whether the first application and the second application are compatible to run on a same session, or a same session server; and selecting a resource for the target application based on the subset of applicable relevance rules, wherein the resource includes at least one of a session or a session server, wherein selecting the resource includes: determining whether at least one available session exists for the target application by analyzing sessions that are compatible and sessions that are not compatible for the target application; if at least one available session exists, returning the at least one session for use by the application virtualization platform; if at least one available session does not exist, determining whether at least one available session server exists for the target application by analyzing session servers that are compatible and session servers that are not compatible for the target application; and if at least one available session server exists, returning the at least one session server for use by the application virtualization platform, wherein the subset of applicable relevance rules define whether the target application and a currently running application are compatible to run on the same session or the same session server, and wherein the subset of applicable relevance rules enable selecting the resource for the target application to enhance efficiency in running the target application and the currently running application, wherein selecting the resource for the target application includes first searching for any currently running application for which the subset of relevance rules define as eligible for the target application to join on the same session, wherein selecting the resource for the target application includes, if failing to identify any currently running application for which the subset of relevance rules define as eligible for the target application to join on the same session: searching for any currently running application for which the subset of relevance rules define as eligible for the target application to join on the same session server.
 8. The brokering system of claim 7, wherein the relevance setting for the first application and the second application specifies one of: a first setting indicating that the first application and the second application are compatible to run on the same session; a second setting indicating that the first application and the second application are not compatible to run on the same session; a third setting indicating that the first application and the second application are compatible to run on the same session server; or a fourth setting indicating that the first application and the second application are not compatible to run on the same session server.
 9. The brokering system of claim 7, wherein selecting the resource further includes: if at least one available session server does not exist, returning an error.
 10. The brokering system of claim 7, wherein each relevance rule includes a rule identifier and further specifies a scope to which the relevance rule applies, wherein the scope indicates that the relevance applies only to a current user, applies to a group of users, or applies to all users.
 11. The brokering system of claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured to perform: i) defining a first candidate set of sessions for the target application to join that have a currently running application for which the subset of relevance rules define as eligible for the target application to join on the same session, ii) searching for all currently running applications that are not compatible to run on the same session as the target application and defining a second candidate set of sessions that include the currently running applications that are not compatible to run on the same session as the target application, and iii) returning only sessions from the first candidate set of sessions that do not include the second candidate set of sessions for the target application to join, if step (iii) does not return any eligible sessions for the target application to join, then: iv) defining a first candidate set of session servers for the target application to join that have a currently running application for which the subset of relevance rules define as eligible for the target application to join on the same session server, v) searching for all currently running applications that are not compatible to run on the same session server as the target application and defining a second candidate set of session servers that include the currently running applications that are not compatible to run on the same session server as the target application, and vi) returning only session servers from the first candidate set of session servers that do not include the second candidate set of session servers for the target application to join.
 12. A method for brokering resources for an application virtualization platform, comprising: receiving a request from a client to launch a target application hosted by the application virtualization platform; retrieving a subset of applicable relevance rules that specify the target application from a set of relevance rules, wherein each relevance rule specifies a relevance setting between a first application and a second application, wherein the relevance setting defines whether the first application and the second application are compatible to run on a same session, or a same session server; and selecting a resource for the target application based on the subset of applicable relevance rules, wherein the resource includes at least one of a session or a session server, wherein selecting the resource for the target application includes: first searching for any currently running application for which the subset of relevance rules define as eligible for the target application to join on the same session, and if failing to identify any currently running application for which the subset of relevance rules define as eligible for the target application to join on the same session: searching for any currently running application for which the subset of relevance rules define as eligible for the target application to join on the same session server, wherein the subset of applicable relevance rules define whether the target application and a currently running application are compatible to run on the same session or the same session server, and wherein the subset of applicable relevance rules enable selecting the resource for the target application to enhance efficiency in running the target application and the currently running application.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the relevance setting for the first application and the second application specifies one of: a first setting indicating that the first application and the second application are compatible to run on the same session; a second setting indicating that the first application and the second application are not compatible to run on the same session; a third setting indicating that the first application and the second application are compatible to run on the same session server; or a fourth setting indicating that the first application and the second application are not compatible to run on the same session server.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein selecting the resource further includes: if at least one available session server does not exist, returning an error.
 15. The method of claim 12, wherein each relevance rule includes a rule identifier and further specifies a scope to which the relevance rule applies, and wherein the scope indicates that the relevance applies only to a current user, applies to a group of users, or applies to all users.
 16. The method of claim 12, further comprising: i) defining a first candidate set of sessions for the target application to join that have a currently running application for which the subset of relevance rules define as eligible for the target application to join on the same session, ii) searching for all currently running applications that are not compatible to run on the same session as the target application and defining a second candidate set of sessions that include the currently running applications that are not compatible to run on the same session as the target application, and iii) returning only sessions from the first candidate set of sessions that do not include the second candidate set of sessions for the target application to join, if step (iii) does not return any eligible sessions for the target application to join, then: iv) defining a first candidate set of session servers for the target application to join that have a currently running application for which the subset of relevance rules define as eligible for the target application to join on the same session server, v) searching for all currently running applications that are not compatible to run on the same session server as the target application and defining a second candidate set of session servers that include the currently running applications that are not compatible to run on the same session server as the target application, and vi) returning only session servers from the first candidate set of session servers that do not include the second candidate set of session servers for the target application to join. 